What’s up with the U-turn?

Published: Sunday, July 22, 2012 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, July 22, 2012 at 12:55 a.m.

Terrebonne public schools Superintendent Philip Martin was justified seeking to curtail bus transportation for private and parochial students amid persistent state budget cuts.

He and the School Board — which backed off on the action last week — just failed to go about it in the right way.

And that’s too bad.

The reversal, amid pressure from Catholic-school parents and a lawsuit by the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, is a gain for private students at the expense of their public-school counterparts.

Terrebonne’s public schools will cut about $2 million this year, eliminating teacher positions, imposing a hiring freeze and curtailing services. State money — the main revenue source for Terrebonne and other Louisiana public school systems — has been frozen for the past four years while expenses have risen. During that time, Terrebonne’s public schools have eliminated nearly 500 positions, many of them teachers. Meanwhile, Martin says, the state has cut about $376,000 the system had used to help bus private students.

Now that Martin’s plan has been scrapped, at least for this year, the budget cuts will be more severe, and public-school students will feel the effects.

Martin never proposed eliminating transportation for anyone. His plan would have simply done what neighboring Lafourche Parish and other school systems have done for as long as anyone can remember.

Right now, private- and Catholic-school students in Terrebonne can hop on a bus near their homes and take a series of transfers until they get to their campuses. They get door-to-door service, regardless of how far a student has to travel to get to and from a private school.

In most situations, Martin’s proposal would have required parents who live great distances from the private schools their children attend to take them to the closest public high school, and the system would take it from there. Students who live close to their private schools they attend would receive the same service they always have.

The main reason the board and Martin scrapped the plan was not some sudden change of heart. They reversed course because they were on the wrong side of a law that is stacked against them.

Specifically, it’s called Louisiana Revised Statute 17:158. Over the years, the Legislature, catering to Catholic-school interests, has filled the law with onerous provisions that make it difficult for even the most financially strapped public school system to curtail or eliminate busing for private students.

Among its requirements, public school systems must first win permission from the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. To do that, the parish system must put together all kinds of detailed financial documents in an effort to prove it can’t afford the service.

If the parish system manages to jump through all the hoops and win approval, another ludicrous provision kicks in. It allows parents of private students who lose bus transportation to file claims with the local public school system and receive up to $125 per student or $375 for families.

Martin and the School Board failed to get state approval, so they couldn’t beat the diocese in court. That is why they changed their minds and decided to work with diocese officials on a plan for next year.

I hope Martin and the School Board succeed at enacting their plan; here are a few reasons why:

- Terrebonne’s public schools can’t afford door-to-door service anymore. It’s difficult to justify cutting public students’ services to benefit parents who chose to send their kids to private schools. Most parents who can afford to do that can afford to transport them at least part of the way, which is all Martin was asking.

- Tuition at Vandebilt Catholic High costs more than $6,000 a year. Parents, Catholic schools and the diocese could show good faith by at least helping foot some – if not all -- of their students’ transportation bills.

- Some Catholic-school parents have argued that their kids are entitled to public-school bus service because they pay taxes too. I don’t buy it. Using the same logic, people who don’t have kids at all might demand an exemption from education taxes altogether. Or how does this sound? I pay school taxes, but I don’t have kids, so I would like to eat free meals in the school cafeteria every day. School taxes aren’t fees for direct services. We pay them because doing so serves a public good; we all benefit from an educated population.

Courier and Daily Comet Executive Editor Keith Magill can be reached at 857-2201 or keith.magill

<p>Terrebonne public schools Superintendent Philip Martin was justified seeking to curtail bus transportation for private and parochial students amid persistent state budget cuts.</p><p>He and the School Board — which backed off on the action last week — just failed to go about it in the right way.</p><p>And that's too bad.</p><p>The reversal, amid pressure from Catholic-school parents and a lawsuit by the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, is a gain for private students at the expense of their public-school counterparts.</p><p>Terrebonne's public schools will cut about $2 million this year, eliminating teacher positions, imposing a hiring freeze and curtailing services. State money — the main revenue source for Terrebonne and other Louisiana public school systems — has been frozen for the past four years while expenses have risen. During that time, Terrebonne's public schools have eliminated nearly 500 positions, many of them teachers. Meanwhile, Martin says, the state has cut about $376,000 the system had used to help bus private students.</p><p>Now that Martin's plan has been scrapped, at least for this year, the budget cuts will be more severe, and public-school students will feel the effects.</p><p>Martin never proposed eliminating transportation for anyone. His plan would have simply done what neighboring Lafourche Parish and other school systems have done for as long as anyone can remember.</p><p>Right now, private- and Catholic-school students in Terrebonne can hop on a bus near their homes and take a series of transfers until they get to their campuses. They get door-to-door service, regardless of how far a student has to travel to get to and from a private school.</p><p>In most situations, Martin's proposal would have required parents who live great distances from the private schools their children attend to take them to the closest public high school, and the system would take it from there. Students who live close to their private schools they attend would receive the same service they always have.</p><p>The main reason the board and Martin scrapped the plan was not some sudden change of heart. They reversed course because they were on the wrong side of a law that is stacked against them.</p><p>Specifically, it's called Louisiana Revised Statute 17:158. Over the years, the Legislature, catering to Catholic-school interests, has filled the law with onerous provisions that make it difficult for even the most financially strapped public school system to curtail or eliminate busing for private students.</p><p>Among its requirements, public school systems must first win permission from the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. To do that, the parish system must put together all kinds of detailed financial documents in an effort to prove it can't afford the service.</p><p>If the parish system manages to jump through all the hoops and win approval, another ludicrous provision kicks in. It allows parents of private students who lose bus transportation to file claims with the local public school system and receive up to $125 per student or $375 for families.</p><p>Martin and the School Board failed to get state approval, so they couldn't beat the diocese in court. That is why they changed their minds and decided to work with diocese officials on a plan for next year.</p><p>I hope Martin and the School Board succeed at enacting their plan; here are a few reasons why:</p><p>- Terrebonne's public schools can't afford door-to-door service anymore. It's difficult to justify cutting public students' services to benefit parents who chose to send their kids to private schools. Most parents who can afford to do that can afford to transport them at least part of the way, which is all Martin was asking. </p><p>- Tuition at Vandebilt Catholic High costs more than $6,000 a year. Parents, Catholic schools and the diocese could show good faith by at least helping foot some – if not all -- of their students' transportation bills.</p><p>- Some Catholic-school parents have argued that their kids are entitled to public-school bus service because they pay taxes too. I don't buy it. Using the same logic, people who don't have kids at all might demand an exemption from education taxes altogether. Or how does this sound? I pay school taxes, but I don't have kids, so I would like to eat free meals in the school cafeteria every day. School taxes aren't fees for direct services. We pay them because doing so serves a public good; we all benefit from an educated population.</p><p> </p><p>Courier and Daily Comet Executive Editor Keith Magill can be reached at 857-2201 or keith.magill</p><p>@houmatoday.com.</p>